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My fall exhibitions are over and so now back to work. I started creating a new series of paintings.

The Great Lakes contain about 21% of the world's surface freshwater -- in a world with rising water shortages. These new paintings are motivated by my environmental interests -- specifically the role the Great Lakes play in the region and how they'll factor into our future.

In this series, I'm taking my "city by the lake" paintings down to a basic, abstract level. I'm using aerial maps as my inspiration. I went to Google Maps, zoomed in on the Chicago region and printed the regular map view so I could reference the shapes of Lake Michigan and the surrounding states. The painting above is a close up view and the one below is a further out view of the regional area.

The Lake 2, acrylic on canvas, 2008 work in progress

I haven't done any true abstracts recently and it's always a great way to experiment. It's fun to throw on some tunes, mix some paint, and let the music create the energy of the brushstrokes. These are still a work in progress -- I'm looking to add more textures and layers and some boundary outlines.